Terra New York Pops Up on the Bowery in NYC

Over the weekend, I stopped by Marie Saeki and Yurika Nakazono’s Terra New York pop-up shop at Takamichi Hair. I had been intrigued by the translucent polyurethane rainwear for months. And though the three-style collection has been available to buy online since its inception, this was my first opportunity to see the pieces up-close.

"I was born in raised in Sweden, but later moved to Tokyo," Parsons grad Nakazono explained. "Iit always rained and my expensive shoes and coats were getting ruined. I’ve always loved the look of transparency and the idea of mixing matte with shiny. I felt that most of the rainwear on the market looked very ‘countryside-ish,’ and I wanted something that would work for city life."

By combining semi-sheer urethane with an avant-garde heat-sealed technique to keep out stray water droplets, Nakazono’s brought her vision to life. "I started with a trench coat, something I could wear to meetings and out to dinner. And the cape can be thrown over a sweater—it’s so easy to wear."

The collection’s star piece, however, is surely the adjustable hooded parka. "Marie and I bike all the time and we wanted to make something with a big hood so you could wear a helmet underneath. You can play around with the drawstrings in the sleeve and hemline, too…and shape it in whatever way you’d like."

Next up, Saeki told me, Terra New York will be featured in Gap concept stores in both San Francisco and NYC in mid-2012. In the meantime, Manhattanites can stop by Takamichi Hair at 263 Bowery today to catch the last day of the pop-up shop—and the trio of raincoats are also available to order at TerraNewYork.com.